Moyes hails Rooney and Van Persie as Man United sink Arsenal

David Moyes singled out Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie for special praise after Manchester United beat league leaders Arsenal at Old Trafford.

Van Persie netted the winner against his former club once again when he headed home Rooney’s corner after 27 minutes.

Arsenal failed to break down a stubborn United defence as the Red Devils held on to move up to fifth place in the Premier League table.

And Moyes was gushing with praise for both Rooney and Van Persie after the final whistle.

“Great players score great goals in big games and Robin is a great player,” said Moyes.

“I have to say his sidekick, Wayne, played great as well. The two of them were fantastic. Wayne made it, Robin scored it.

“I said to Wayne afterwards that his energy and the way he worked was magnificent.

“It was a big game to win because Arsenal have been in such great form. We showed how important it was by how well we played in the first half.

“Manchester United were champions last year and a lot of people wrote them off very quickly, which is fine, but hopefully by the end of the season we’ll not be too far off.”